Most goals are about improving ourselves. We want to lose weight, eat well, improve family relationships, and read more. None of these things are wrong. But when we look across the goals we set as people of God we should ask ourselves: Why all the self-improvement? Is this what Christians are called to pursue?
Last week I shared a little glimpse of my bible study routine on Uniquely Woman. But if you’re like me, sometimes you need to see it in writing! My bible study routine has changed over the years. As I shared in this post, worship doesn’t look the same as it did when I was a single, working professional – or even when I was first married.
When I think over my walk with the Lord, that journey is marked by little altars; places where I spent time worshiping Him, laying my requests at His feet. Those places couldn’t be more different. As I moved from living at home with my family to attending to college, from college to career, from single to married and from marriage to motherhood, my times with God changed with me. In every season I had a “bible study corner”; a place I met with the Lord. But it looked different each time.
The shock of loss seems to steal our breath and with it our ability to think clearly. It can be extremely difficult to think of how to pray for ourselves and the people we love so dearly. Thankfully, our faith in God and reliance on Him has greater power and yields greater results than our grief.
God knows precisely how our brains function in times like these and He has mercifully given us the Holy Spirit to pray for us.
I was recently talking to a young woman who was struggling to find purpose and meaning in her current season of life. Her job was draining, her relationships felt forced, and her faith was tired. As I began to share a few things I hoped would encourage her, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “Yeah, that is easy for you to say since you actually have a job that you are passionate about… but I’m stuck.”